For Cain Velasquez, entering the cage against Brazilian slugger Junior dos Santos on December 29 wasn’t nearly as difficult as explaining to his 3-year-old daughter why they weren’t celebrating Christmas on December 25.

“It was hard—we had to lie to her a little bit,” says Velasquez. “On Christmas Day, we just did a normal training day. I went to practice and did the normal stuff, and we didn’t really celebrate Christmas. My wife and I talked about it before and decided that we would celebrate Christmas after the fight. Once we got home from the fight, we had a great Christmas.”

Such are the perils of life as a professional cage fighter, especially one who’s scheduled to headline the UFC’s traditional end-of-year event. Fortunately for Velasquez, his December 29 win over dos Santos proved to be one of the best performances of his professional career, and the belated holiday proved to be very merry.

“When we got back to California, we told her that Santa was going to come the next day,” Velasquez says. “We put her to bed, and the next morning, she got to wake up and open all of her presents.”

Velasquez probably deserved a few extra packages under the tree, as well. After all, to the victor goes the spoils, and Velasquez’s rematch victory over the Brazilian slugger was 25 minutes of heavyweight MMA at its finest. According to FightMetric, Velasquez landed 210 total strikes during the fight and scored with 11 of 33 takedown attempts. He assaulted dos Santos from the opening bell, and while the former champ showed incredible heart during a fight that ultimately left his face almost unrecognizable, Velasquez was in complete control throughout the five-round affair.

The traditionally modest Velasquez describes his work with a few less superlatives.
“I think I did good,” Velasquez says. “I think the first two rounds, I put a lot of pressure on him. From that, I kind of tired him out, and I didn’t give him the room he needed to show his hands. I think keeping him on the feet with the wrestling and then going up top really helped me out. We’ve been in the position before in practice, where we have fresh guys in while we’re doing five rounds. I just knew that with the early pressure he would be more tired than I was. And he was.”

For Velasquez, the victory was especially sweet. After all, regaining the UFC Heavyweight Title was his ultimate goal, but doing it against the man who handed him his lone career defeat was an even more rewarding experience.

“It was definitely special,” Velasquez says. “It’s not just getting the belt, itself. It’s avenging my only loss against a guy who people thought was kind of unbeatable.”
Velasquez’s gift came with a special bonus, as well—UFC sponsor Harley-Davidson promised the winner a custom-made motorcycle. While the century-old American bike manufacturer has done the same for past winners of The Ultimate Fighter, the prize was especially appreciated by Velasquez, who has developed into a bit of a biking enthusiast.

“Me and my wife were talking about it, and we decided biking was something we could do together,” Velasquez says. “We ended up doing it, and I just kind of fell in love with it.”

Velasquez ended up ordering a customized Touring Road Glide, which he’s looking forward to using for road trips around his Bay Area home. He offered to buy his wife a motorcycle, as well, but she’s content for now to let her husband do the driving.
“She doesn’t have one yet,” Velasquez says. “I told her, ‘If you want one, we can get you one,’ but she wasn’t super excited about it. I think she’d rather have a new purse than a motorcycle. But we go on trips together. I’ll take her on the back, and we’ll go places.”
Rest and relaxation have been Velasquez’s primary focus thus far in 2013. After a belated Christmas celebration came a whirlwind media tour that saw the UFC Heavyweight Champ visit Chicago, Miami, and Mexico City. When that excitement died down, it was time for a family vacation.

“I was getting in the gym when I could, but we definitely needed to take a family trip because they deserve it,” Velasquez says. “We also just spent time at home. We had family over to do a Christmas party. That’s pretty much it.”

But now, it’s back to business. The contenders to his UFC crown are already lining up and taking aim at the division’s new kingpin. Junior dos Santos’ camp called for an immediate rematch, but Velasquez doesn’t believe that’s justified. After all, when he lost his title to dos Santos in 2011 via first-round TKO, Velasquez had to work his way back to a championship bout with a win over Antonio Silva.

“I think the win over dos Santos was decisive enough that we should move on,” Velasquez says. “He’s in the same shoes I was in where I had to come back and fight again. There was no talk from my side for an immediate rematch with the way that I lost. I just took it, and I knew I would have my chance again, but I knew I had to earn it.”

That said, Velasquez definitely sees a rubber match with dos Santos in his future.

“I think we will definitely meet again, for sure,” Velasquez says. “I don’t know when, but I know we will.”

Alistair Overeem had been expected to challenge for Velasquez’s title prior to his shocking UFC 156 loss to Antonio Silva. Instead, it appears “Bigfoot” is now a leading candidate to rematch the man who beat him in May 2012. This time, however, there will be even more on the line.

Regardless of the opponent, Velasquez will look to defend his belt for the first time, and history isn’t necessarily on his side. In the 16-year history of the belt, no man has ever defended the title more than twice. Velasquez wasn’t able to successfully defend the crown during his first run as champion, but he promises things will be different this time around.

“I definitely want to defend it,” Velasquez says. “That’s been my goal since the beginning. That’s the name of the game. You don’t want to get it once or twice. I want to keep accumulating these belts for a while. That’s my whole focus right now.”

Brothers in Arms

Cain Velasquez’s return to the top of the UFC’s heavyweight mountain comes just as his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Daniel Cormier is making his highly-anticipated Octagon debut. The undefeated Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner is slated to face Frank Mir in April, and a win would boost his already surging stock.
UFC president Dana White is often quick to offer his take on teammates fighting, but Velasquez doesn’t anticipate a problem, as he expects his training partner to ultimately move down to 205 pounds.
“I think he’s talking about going down to 205 pounds,” Velasquez says. “But I think with him being a friend, a teammate, and a coach, I don’t want to fight him. He’s a workout partner, and he’s my wrestling coach. Especially with the fights with Junior dos Santos and Brock Lesnar, so much of it had to do with my wrestling, and I worked very closely with DC.”
For his part, Cormier has yet to reveal his ultimate plan. He has teased a move to light heavyweight and has gone so far as to challenge UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. Velasquez believes his path will never cross Cormier’s, but he does believe success lies ahead for his teammate.
“I think whatever he does, he’s going to be a champion,” Velasquez says. “He can win a belt in either weight class.”

No Excuses

Prior to Cain Velasquez’s rematch with Junior dos Santos, a video of a training session prior to the pair’s first fight was leaked online. The clip provided irrefutable video evidence of a long-rumored knee injury that Velasquez carried into the first matchup.
While the video, which was posted without the fighter’s consent, made it clear Velasquez was dealing with a serious injury in the first fight, he would have preferred it to have remained under wraps.
“Even though I was hurt, what’s the point of me crying about it and telling everyone?” Velasquez says. “For me, I just had to come back and fight and win—not talk about it. I wish the people would have told me that it was going to come out or something because I would have told them, ‘No, don’t bring it out. It’s stupid.’ It is what it is, but it did make me mad. Putting out that video without letting me know was a little frustrating.”
At full health, Velasquez went out and dominated dos Santos in the rematch. Still, Velasquez refuses to make any excuses for losing in just 64 seconds in the pair’s first encounter.
“It’s just that coming into the second fight, if I wasn’t successful, people would be like, ‘Okay, you weren’t hurt, what’s the excuse this time?’ And it would just be making excuses. There’s no need for them.”

Unleash the Fury

UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez recently found himself under attack, as undefeated English boxing prospect Tyson Fury labeled him a “little midget on steroids” and challenged him to a fight in either an MMA cage or boxing ring.
Velasquez was unfazed by the challenge and admitted he didn’t really know who Fury was before the unexpected call-out. That being said, Velasquez would be more than happy to meet Fury in the Octagon, provided he works his way through the UFC’s ranks.
“He’s just trying to ride my coattails,” Velasquez says. “If he wants to go to the UFC, just work your way up the way everybody else does. Do it. Don’t talk about it. Do it.”

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/calming-the-beast-5462/feed0Far East Expansionhttp://www.fightmagazine.com/far-east-expansion-6013
http://www.fightmagazine.com/far-east-expansion-6013#commentsSat, 15 Dec 2012 18:40:18 +0000http://ec2-54-175-232-241.compute-1.amazonaws.com/?p=6013The UFC made its MMA debut in China for UFC on Fuel TV 6 in November, and FIGHT!’s one-man roving reporter John Morgan hopped planes, trains, and automo- biles to provide you with his first-hand account.

I hate to admit it, but I’m still not exactly sure whether or not I’ve been to China. The 15,000 miles I added to my frequent flyer account suggest I have, and I definitely remember enduring a full week away from my wife and six-month-old son. But after spending the week of UFC on Fuel TV 6 in Macau, I’m just not entirely sure what exactly that means, since Macau is actually one of two “special administrative regions” of the People’s Republic of China.

Depending on whom you ask, Macau is either China’s equivalent of Las Vegas or the country’s red-headed stepchild, hand- ed over from Portuguese rule in 1999 and promised 50 years of autonomy. The latter seemed to be true when I first arrived.

I consider myself a fairly educated traveler, so I did my research well in advance. I knew that one of the simplest and cheap- est routes to Macau was a flight to Hong Kong and then a ferryboat ride from the airport to Macau’s Taipa terminal, where I would be a short taxi ride away from my hotel. Ah, if things were as easy in reality as they are in our plans.

When I arrived to Hong Kong, I discovered that it was too late in the evening to take said ferry to Macau. The people of the region, however, offered a simple solution: take a one-hour train from the airport to the downtown Hong Kong train station, catch a cab for a quick ride to the downtown ferry terminal, and then you can hop on an alternate one-hour boat to Macau. Oh, but be- cause Macau and Hong Kong aren’t really China (or maybe they are), you have to clear immigration each time you enter or leave one of those territories.

The Macanese money you thought you were so smart to secure before you flew 14 hours from the U.S., yeah, that’s no good in Hong Kong. Sure, sure, I know the Maca- nese pataca is worth the exact same as the Hong Kong dollar, but you can understand why they simply won’t take it, right?

Things weren’t shaping up well in my first few hours in Asia, and the mysterious doughy creations I was served on the boat—complete with room-temperature fruit and yogurt I decided I should probably avoid—did little to make me believe I was going to enjoy my time in Macau.

And then, I finally arrived.

As a Sin City resident, bright lights and fancy buildings don’t really grab my attention. I see the world-famous Las Vegas Strip every time I head to my local grocery store. But Macau’s Cotai Strip is something spe- cial. In terms of land area, the Cotai Strip pales in comparison to its North American counterpart, but the individual hotels and casinos are far grander in scale. Take, for instance, the host venue for the week—the Venetian Macau. While it looks very much like its sister property in Las Vegas, the Venetian Macau boasts the world’s largest casino and is the sixth-largest building of any kind on earth. Let that sink in.

As I walked through the casino, it was hard not to notice just how busy the gambling areas were. A Las Vegas casino would kill to have that many players placing sizable wagers well into the night and early morning. And these people are serious about their gambling. Looking for a beer on a blackjack table? You won’t find it. The focus must remain high, and alcohol won’t help.

Everyone in the hotel speaks English, so checking in, ordering a meal, placing a bet—it’s all tremendously easy. It doesn’t take long at all to almost forget you’re in China. It all feels so familiar. And then comes the kicker. The Venetian Macau—you know, the one IN MACAU—only accepts Hong Kong dollars. Seriously. A territory with its own currency that would generally prefer using bills and coins of another territory—see where the confusion is created? (On a side note, I’ve got a stack of Macanese patacas sitting in my office that I would be happy to sell you on the cheap.)

When traveling abroad for UFC events, getting there is always the hard part. Once you’ve settled in, fight week is a pretty routine process. There are open workouts, press conferences, weigh-ins, and then fight night. This particular event was different. It was like hopping into a time machine and dialing back 20 years. MMA is simply a foreign concept to the Chinese public. Sure, traditional martial arts have long played a significant part in the country’s culture, but they are generally viewed as an actual form of art. Locking a cage door behind you and testing your skills against another man in as-real-as-it-gets combat doesn’t quite fit the mold.

There is, however, a major difference be- tween the struggles of the UFC in America during the John McCain era and the ones they face in China—the country doesn’t seem opposed to the violent nature of the sport. There are no protests of “human cockfighting” or calls for banning the sport. Creating fans may just be a matter of education.

Fight week’s press conference and open workout session was a perfect example of the UFC’s plan in China. Following the traditional panel discussion, UFC exec Reed Harris and former WEC Featherweight Champ Urijah Faber led gathered onlookers through a how-to session on MMA. UFC on Fuel TV 6 headliners Cung Le and Rich Franklin took turns showing off striking combinations, takedowns, and grappling transitions, as Harris and Faber described not only what was taking place on the mats but also the type of commitment to training and diet that is required to succeed in MMA. A UFC Rule Book was distributed to attending MMA media.

A similar education process was taking place back at the Venetian Macau. UFC officials set up a walk-through museum of sorts in one of the hotel’s main thorough- fares. A video loop played over and over with clips outlining the history of the UFC from its 1993 inception to its 2001 purchase by Zuffa to its current position on network television. There were segments where UFC executives and fighters discussed the culture of sportsmanship in MMA and also outlined the extensive medical regulations in place to ensure the safety of its fighters.

The walls were plastered with huge posters discussing the different fighting styles prevalent in the UFC, detailing how victory is achieved, and introducing the reigning champions of each division. This was China’s introduction to the UFC.

The possibilities are staggering. UFC China officials informed me that UFC on Fuel TV 6 was ultimately broadcast to about 450 million Chinese citizens, which is just one-third of the country’s population of 1.3 billion people. Following the night’s fights, UFC officials announced a deal to bring both televised programming and live events to Indonesia, the world’s fourth- most populous nation, with approximately 238 million residents.

The night’s fights were entertaining enough. Despite seven consecutive decisions to open the night, there were a few entertaining bouts to kick off the evening, and the night ended with a bang when Le leveled Franklin. All in all, it was a decent showing in terms of entertainment value.

It cer tainly won’t be an easy path to Chinese MMA domination for the UFC. Business works a little differently there, as several Chinese residents were happy to explain. The Chinese version of the FCC can shut down any broadcast it deems unacceptable, even if the board doesn’t provide a list of what exactly it expects. And most importantly, the nation needs to develop a superstar or two in order for the Chinese people to have a reason to care. That’s generally important in any developing market, but it’s especially imperative in China, where the government controls the country’s largest networks, whose sole purpose is to air programming that paints the nation in a good light. A Chinese fighter winning bouts, especially over athletes from other nations, would likely earn their attention.

I had a few hours to wander around on my final day in Macau, and as Westernized as the city seems on the outside, there is still a very traditional culture just outside the Cotai Strip. I guess some of that is evident even in the Venetian Macau’s food court, which featured more than its fair share of hanging fowl and mystery meats and fewer-than-expected burger joints and pizza shops. I did indulge in a piping hot bowl of pho, which did the trick before I star ted my 24-hour excursion back home.

That, of course, didn’t prove to be as simple as hoped—or as promised. Since I was flying American Airlines, I couldn’t take the Taipa ferry to the airport. Instead, it was a bus to the ferry terminal, a boat to Hong Kong, a taxi to a ground terminal, and a train to the airport—oh, and clearing customs twice more. My passport got an incredible workout.

Ultimately, I enjoyed my time in Macau, and I imagine UFC officials probably consider their first trip to China a success. The true measure of the market will come when the company visits Beijing or some other Chinese mainland destination. How- ever, witnessing the company’s first step into the market was something I won’t soon forget.

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/far-east-expansion-6013/feed0Return of the Rushhttp://www.fightmagazine.com/return-of-the-rush-5308
http://www.fightmagazine.com/return-of-the-rush-5308#commentsMon, 15 Oct 2012 20:45:39 +0000http://ec2-54-175-232-241.compute-1.amazonaws.com/?p=5308Be advised Carlos Condit: UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre is returning to the Octagon at UFC 154 on November 17 a new man.

Here’s a scary thought: UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, unbeaten and largely untouched for the past five-and-a-half years, has been struggling to find motivation in the cage. That’s right. “Rush,” the French-Canadian phenom who is generally considered—at worst—one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world, hasn’t been operating at peak levels.

“I lost the fire, and I just didn’t have as much fun as I used to,” says St-Pierre. “My last couple of fights, I was getting tired. It was like I lost the fi re. I had a lot of pressure. I was over-trained, and I think that was a big issue.”

Of course, St-Pierre has been winning despite his apparent lack of mental focus. He currently boasts a nine-fight win streak, and the shocking 2007 effort from Matt Serra is St-Pierre’s lone blemish in his last 16 trips to the Octagon. Were it not for Anderson Silva’s incredible UFC run, St-Pierre would likely be in consideration for the title of “Best Fighter of All-Time.”

But MMA is often an out-of-sight, out-of-mind world, and St-Pierre has been on the shelf since an April 2011 win over Jake Shields. He was expected to face Nick Diaz in 2011, but the mercurial Californian was scratched from the bout in favor of Carlos Condit when Diaz no-showed a pre-fi ght press conference. St-Pierre then suffered a torn ACL and was forced out of that fight, which ultimately allowed Condit to decision Diaz for the Interim UFC Welterweight Title.

St-Pierre now faces Condit in a title unifi cation contest at November’s UFC 154 event in Montreal. While Condit has been saddled with the Interim tag, St-Pierre believes his own time out of the cage means the “Natural Born Killer” deserves the title of champion.

“In my contract, I’m supposed to defend my title once a year,” St-Pierre says. “I have not defended it for more than a year, so of course Carlos is the champion. I haven’t fought for a long time. It’s up to me to come back and prove to everyone that I can regain the title. But for now, Carlos is the champion. When the injury happened late in 2011 and I found it was an ACL tear, I knew it was going to be a long rehab, and I knew I basically had to give away the title. I felt like this from the very beginning.”

During his time away from the sport, St-Pierre has undergone reconstructive surgery on his knee and endured aggressive rehabilitation in an effort to rebuild the joint. But St-Pierre says the rehab has done more than simply bring him back to full physical strength—he’s feeling mentally re-energized, as well.

“It’s been a very long time, and I’ve been changing a lot of things in my training,” St-Pierre says. “I think the reason I got hurt was mostly because I was over-trained. But now, I feel like I’ve been reborn. It’s a new beginning, and I’m very anxious to get back into the Octagon. I’m training smarter, and I’m more efficient. I also have more fun doing it. I think that’s the key to this whole thing—having fun. I figured out that when you have fun, you’re better at what you do. The whole reason I started doing martial arts was because I had fun and I loved it.”

St-Pierre, a consummate professional whose methodical approach to everything, from his time in the gym to his time with a microphone, does sound reinvigorated. Smiles are flashed more frequently, and he again seems excited to talk about fighting rather than simply obligated. It’s a new energy he believes will translate to the Octagon, as St-Pierre promises to bring a more exciting approach to his fights.

“I need to be more opportunistic,” St-Pierre says. “I should be fighting with less defense and less precaution.”

Condit is unquestionably a legitimate threat to St-Pierre and brings an impressive five-fight win streak to the cage, as well as a mark of 13-1 in his past 14 fights. He’s also an extended teammate of St-Pierre, as they both fight under famed coach Greg Jackson’s extended umbrella. Of course, St-Pierre trains largely with Firas Zahabi of Montreal’s Tristar Gym, while Condit’s daily work takes place in New Mexico.

The two have generally avoided working with each other over the years, as both anticipated the matchup at some point in their respective careers. Because their training interactions have been limited, St-Pierre says he’s not concerned about any potential advantages his opponent may have in terms of tactical knowledge.

“Carlos knows me, and I know him,” St-Pierre says. “We never trained together, but he knows my strengths, and I know his. He’s going to try and fight his fight, and I’m going to try and fight my fight. I’m going to focus on what it takes to win, and that’s what I’ll try and do.”

A former World Extreme Cagefighting Welterweight Champion, Condit does have a healthy following in the sport, but he’s nowhere near the status level of St-Pierre, who UFC president Dana White has repeatedly claimed is the biggest pay-per-view draw in the sport. Still, St-Pierre is more than familiar with his opponent’s abilities, and he insists he has a healthy respect for Condit’s skills.

“Carlos is very, very dangerous because he adapts very well to any kind of situation,” St-Pierre says. “He’s a different fighter than all the guys that I’ve fought…he likes to create his opportunities in a fight. He likes to create chaos, and from there he finds his opportunities. This fight is going to be a nasty fight. It’s not going to be a beautiful fight. It’s going to be hard, and I’m very ready for that.”

St-Pierre’s future spot in the UFC Hall of Fame is already secure. As Canada’s finest mixed martial artist, he shoulders the weight of an MMA-crazed nation, and his record alone speaks to his quality as a fighter. But this fight represents St-Pierre’s first fight as a 30-something-year-old athlete, and he’s looking to rebound from an injury that has ended other athletes’ careers.

GSP hasn’t finished an opponent in regulation since 2009, and there are a number of young guns who want nothing more than to solidify their legacy in the sport by beating the legendary St-Pierre. In many ways, it’s a crucial crossroads for the longtime champion. Can he silence the critics and re-assert his stature as an MMA legend, or has his competition caught up to him during what will wind up as a 19-month layoff?

An energized St-Pierre seems to think it’s the former, and he is unquestionably excited about the opportunity to show his own evolution as a fighter.

“It’s never good to get hurt, but I think the fact that I got hurt forced me to step back and change my life, change my training program, and make it better,” St-Pierre says. “I made improvements, and I now I have more fi re. I want to do it, and I want to have more fun. I found the fire again. For me, the most important thing is to get back and be able to be healthy. Right now, I’m healthy, and I’m blessed that I’m able to do what I love to do for a living. I’m just very glad to be back. I changed a lot of stuff in my training and my life, and I’ve never been so pumped up to step into the Octagon again.”

WELTERS WAITING

While Georges St-Pierre’s dominant UFC run has often left fans wondering is there is viable competition remaining for him to face at 170 pounds, his time on the sidelines following an ACL tear has allowed several new contenders to step up in the division.

St-Pierre meets Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit in the main event of November’s UFC 154 event, and the night’s co-feature between Johny Hendricks and Martin Kampmann is expected to determine the next challenger to the crown.

St-Pierre admits he’s been keeping an interested eye on the division during his time on the sidelines, and he’s excited to challenge a new crop of contenders.

“I think it’s very interesting right now,” St-Pierre says. “There are new contenders in the welterweight division. It makes me very excited to get back in the cage.”

St-Pierre didn’t want to look past his bout with the alwaystough Condit and consider what might lie ahead with the winner of Hendricks vs. Kampmann. However, he was willing to share a few possibilities for how he believes the fight may shake out.

“If it’s a short fight, like a finish in the first round, I think it’s Hendricks,” St-Pierre says. “If it’s a long fight, I believe Kampmann will win. But I think they’re both the top contenders, and I think it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens on November 17.”

Both Hendricks and Kampmann have looked impressive in recent outing and are unquestionably deserving contenders. However, if St-Pierre is able to get through Condit, fans may instead call for GSP to face Nick Diaz, the outspoken former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion who was expected the challenge for a title at 2011’s UFC 137.

It’s a bout that once very much interested St-Pierre, too, but he said he’s not trying to force the matchup right now—especially considering Diaz came up short in a February matchup with Condit. Instead, he will let the division play out over the next several months, and if Diaz is eventually brought to the table, he’ll happily oblige.

“I wanted to fight Diaz mostly because it was a fight that everybody wanted to see,” St-Pierre says. “But now, Carlos beat Nick, and people want to see me fight Carlos Condit. I think if everything goes well, the winner of this fight may end up fighting Nick Diaz. But who knows? I’m focusing on Carlos Condit right now. That’s the only thing in my head.”

MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS

While you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to question Georges St-Pierre’s fighting abilities, the UFC Welterweight Champion has taken some criticism for a run of five decisions in his past six fights. St-Pierre admits he was missing a little bit of the drive necessary to finish high-level opponents, but he also believes that he’s often been in the cage with foes not necessarily looking to do anything other than see the final bell.

“Sometimes, you break a guy mentally before you break him physically by a knockout or submission,” St-Pierre says. “Mentally, he accepts the outcome. He’s not fighting to win anymore. He’s fighting for survival. It’s the instinct of a human being. We don’t want to get beat up. We fight for survival. Even though you know you’re going to lose, you fight for survival.”

St-Pierre declined to name any specific opponents to whom he was referring, but he was willing to single out one fighter in particular who did not adhere to that approach. Perhaps surprisingly, it was an oft-criticized welterweight who fans sometimes contend isn’t capable of putting on crowd pleasing affairs.

“There is one guy I remember who fought to win until the very end, and that’s Jon Fitch,” St-Pierre says. “He never gave up. He didn’t fight not to lose. He was trying to win the whole time, and I could feel it.”

Now, St-Pierre wants to ensure he’s that type of fighter, as well. A safety-first mentality just won’t cut it. He wants to put opponents away inside of the distance, and he insists he now realizes exactly what that takes.

“My last fight with Jake Shields is a good example,” St-Pierre says. “I did get poked in the eyes, too, but I tried too much for the knockout. I tried too much for the big right hand. I did pretty well the first round, the first two rounds, but then I tried to over-commit. I had a lack of patience, and I wanted to go straight for the knockout instead of picking him apart. Knockouts come when you don’t expect them to come.”

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/return-of-the-rush-5308/feed0From Hard Times to Good Timeshttp://www.fightmagazine.com/from-hard-times-to-good-times-5146
http://www.fightmagazine.com/from-hard-times-to-good-times-5146#commentsSat, 15 Sep 2012 20:35:12 +0000http://ec2-54-175-232-241.compute-1.amazonaws.com/?p=5146While UFC featherweight Eddie Yagin recently earned a Fight of the Night bonus check for $65,000 at UFC 145, the 33-year-old Hawaiian has seen his share of hard times.

The first time Eddie Yagin applied a submission, it wasn’t in hopes of a win bonus—it was in an effort to survive.

“This guy was picking on someone every day,” Yagin says. “I guess it was my turn. He was yelling at me and cussing and saying, ‘Wait until they open these bars.’ All I could say to him was, ‘Yeah, I can’t wait until they open these bars.’”

Yagin was just 19 years old, and he was locked up in a Hawaiian prison after being busted for selling narcotics.

“I was young and dumb, and my dream was to be like Tony Montana from Scarface,” Yagin says. “I didn’t have any mentors or anything.”

There he was, still a teenager and just 5’5”, trying to seem tough and avoid the massive Samoan inmate who had taken control of the jail’s population.

“He was in the very first cell,” Yagin says. “I was in the seventh or eighth cell. They opened the cellblock the next morning. He was obviously the first guy to come out, because they open the cells in order. By the time they opened mine, he was in front of my cell. Right when I got out, he swung at me, and I ducked. I was a lot faster than him, but he was a lot bigger. Fortunately, I already knew a little bit about mixed martial arts because I had seen Royce Gracie and the UFC.”

This was the late 1990s, and MMA wasn’t nearly as mainstream as it is today. But Yagin had a friend who collected tapes from around the world, and they would watch the fights on his buddy’s VCR. Yagin quickly became a fan of the sport, and it would ultimately prove valuable during his darkest days.

“I ducked his punch, and I jumped on his back,” Yagin says. “I put him in a rear-naked choke. I was like a backpack on him. He would run across the room and slam my back against the bars to try and knock me off. But every time he got close to the bars, I would turn so it wouldn’t hit my spine. It was just hitting my shoulders. He kept trying to slam me into the bars, but then I saw him loosen up a little bit. I postured up and stretched out, and he turned purple. He fell to his knees and then onto his face. Everyone got quiet. I stepped on his head as I walked back to my cell.”

Even Tony Montana would have been proud. Yagin, however, was not. Instead, he realized it was time for a change.

“Every time I got into a fight like that, I hated it,” Yagin says. “I hated that feeling. I hated what I just did. I broke the law, and I hurt somebody. I didn’t like that feeling, so I asked myself, “Why am I fighting and getting in trouble?’ I decided I could fight and get paid for it and maybe be something in my life.”

Once he completed his six-month sentence, Yagin began training in earnest. He made his professional debut in 2000, and he went undefeated through his first eight fights. As a Hawaiian, he found it difficult to get opportunities to fight on the mainland, and that made getting the attention of big-time promotions almost impossible. He eventually relocated to Las Vegas, where he put himself through school and became a member of the carpenter’s union. Work left him with little time to focus on his fighting career, and he suffered through a stretch of four fights that saw him handed three defeats and a draw.

It was then that Yagin came to a crossroads. Was he meant to fight? Or was it time to give up his dream?

“I told myself, I don’t need to make any excuses,” Yagin says. “I didn’t need to tell people I lost because of this or that. I lost fair and square. I decided to take a break and focus on my construction job and give my bosses 100 percent of my life to see where it would take me. Of course, every single day I went to work, I still had that fire burning in me. I wanted to fight.”

After a two-year break from the sport, Yagin had a change of heart. Yagin had taken part in massive Las Vegas construction projects, including The Palms and City Center, but Sin City’s economy was taking a nosedive, and Yagin saw the writing on the wall. This was his opportunity to take one last shot at a dream.

“I was living in Vegas, and I lost my construction job,” Yagin says.

“I came to San Diego with everything I had in a U-Haul. I didn’t know anybody who lived in San Diego. I just got on Craigslist and looked for a room to rent. I was just going house to house with a U-Haul attached to my car and looking for a place to stay.”

Success wasn’t instant for Yagin. As a featherweight, opportunities to fight for big money were still few and far between. But he remained focused on his goals, and after a 7-1 stint on the regional circuit, including winning the Tachi Palace Featherweight Title, he earned a shot in the UFC. He stumbled in his debut, dropping a lackluster decision to Junior Assuncao, but he bounced back with a split-decision win over longtime veteran Mark Hominick in a bout that earned him UFC 145’s Fight of the Night.

“After that fight, I definitely felt like I got the recognition I had been seeking after all these years,” Yagin says. “I’m a veteran of the sport, but after just one UFC pay-per-view, a lot more people saw me fight. I was also very happy with the bonus check. I was so close to just giving up and retiring, because I felt like maybe I needed to do something else with my life. I fought for my dream, and now I’m doing what I really want to do with my life.”

Yagin’s next big opportunity takes place on December 8, when he meets German striker Dennis Siver at UFC on FOX 5. A win will catapult Yagin up the rankings and certainly earn the “The Filipino Phenom” contender consideration. Yagin welcomes such attention and said his eyes are placed firrmly on the UFC Featherweight Title.

But Yagin’s goals don’t solely consist of championship belts. Instead, he also wants to inspire others to avoid the perils he endured in his youth.

“I want to try and inspire kids and people as much as possible—change other people’s lives and give back as much as I can,” Yagin
says. “I know how it is to live a hard life, and I want kids to believe in themselves. Just because they don’t have anybody there for them doesn’t mean they can’t be successful and strive for success. It doesn’t have to be fighting. It can be anything in life. I just hope I can inspire people and help kids reach their goals and dreams, no matter what they are.”

In the cage, Yagin prefers to stand and bang, but he has earned five of his 16 career wins via choke. Of course, none of them came
with quite as much on the line as the choke he secured in a Hawaiian jail. While it’s an experience he can laugh about now, it’s one that had a profound impact on his life.

“A lot of people don’t know what I’ve been through and how hard I’ve fought to survive in my life and succeed, “Yagin says. “It’s been a rough road, but I never gave up. I kept fighting for my dreams. I never let anything kick me or put me down. I just kept going. No matter how hard I hit the ground and struggled, I got up and dusted myself off.”

]]>http://www.fightmagazine.com/from-hard-times-to-good-times-5146/feed0Barefoot In Japanhttp://www.fightmagazine.com/barefoot-in-japan-2875
http://www.fightmagazine.com/barefoot-in-japan-2875#commentsThu, 15 Mar 2012 22:00:51 +0000http://ec2-54-175-232-241.compute-1.amazonaws.com/?p=2875One MMA journalist’s adventure into The Land of the Rising Sun for UFC 144.

Exiting the American Airlines jumbo jet that had been my home for the past 10 hours and walking into the main concourse of Tokyo’s Narita airport, I couldn’t help but laugh. After all, right there in front of me was a sharp-dressed Japanese gentleman holding a sign with a familiar name—well, sort of: “Gerges St-Piere”

Now, I’m not one to make light of anyone’s spelling, especially in a foreign country. And if you asked me right now to draw any one of those incredibly detailed symbols that Japanese people use to communicate, I would admittedly be at a loss (except, strangely, the symbol for “sauce,” which I learned—but we can save that story for a different day). However, this was the UFC Welterweight Champion, the biggest superstar in mixed martial arts. For crying out loud, his chiseled physique is so famous that there’s an entire workout system named after him.

It was just a passing moment, but it was my first-ever moment in Japan, and it came to symbolize everything that would happen throughout the week. Things were largely as you would imagine— respectful people, clean streets, loads of technology, and an underlying serenity—but it was also unquestionably foreign. After having the good fortune of traveling the globe for the past several years with the sole purpose of watching cage fights, Japan was the first country where, at moments, I felt truly helpless.

February’s UFC 144 served as the UFC’s first trip to Japan since December 2000, not to mention the promotion’s first-ever visit there under Zuffa’s ownership. The historic card served as the perfect opportunity for me to make my debut in Japan, as I was never fortunate enough to make it to the country during PRIDE’s heyday.

Upon arriving in the country, the extensive use of surgical masks by everyday citizens is immediately apparent. So prevalent are the masks, I was told one particular UFC 144 fighter briefly considered using one as a prop during his pre-fight walk-in.

At the airport, arriving internationals with “concerns of health problems” are asked to voluntarily subject themselves to a brief quarantine. I assumed they didn’t mean the type of problems an overweight journalist quickly nearing middle age might encounter, so I simply exited through customs.

For the media, both foreign and domestic, fight week started on Wednesday, where Tokyo’s famed Harajuku neighborhood played host to UFC 144’s open weigh-ins. Packed into a miniscule (by American standards) workout studio at Gold’s Gym, I quickly learned that some Japanese traditions are based in practicality. We removed our shoes to enter the workout studio, which seemed fair enough, until I realized that I would then be spending the next five hours standing barefoot on a hardwood floor.

Now, I realize in terms of physical feats, five hours barefoot on hardwood probably doesn’t merit a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records, but it’s not exactly comfortable. Fortunately, the Japanese have invented the perfect solution to just such a situation: women’s slippers— or at least what I presumed must be women’s slippers based on their dainty size, slim widths, and pointy toes.

As a red-blooded, testosterone-filled American man, I obviously passed on such hideous footwear. Beyond the feminine undertones of the slippers, they were also yellow. Come on. Who would wear such a thing? Me, after about three hours. And once I put them on—heels hanging off the back and toes crunched in the front—I realized I should have done it far sooner.

Ironically, I faced a similar challenge back at the studio apartment that I’d secured for the week (the one tucked into a non-descript block building that looked just like a million others in Tokyo, save for the big-ass animated crab mounted above the awning of the building across the street—thank you for the landmark, random seafood restaurant). After traveling across the Pacific Ocean and going immediately to work at the pre-event workouts, a hot shower was in order. Unfortunately, for those unfamiliar with the inner workings of hot water in a Japanese apartment, you need either a degree in engineering or an incredible stroke of luck to determine how to access said valued resource. I had neither, but YouTube provided my reprieve from an icy cold dousing.

Thank you, kklein25, whoever you are.
I’m not sure what possessed this gentlemen to put together a near-six minute video on the inner workings of a hot-water system, but he is a saint. Five years and some 15,000 views after he first uploaded his instructional masterpiece, kklein25 saved me from what was essentially going to be an ice bath.

And there it was again. The system made absolutely no sense to me, but once I figured out how to make it work, it made all the sense in the world. In fact, I immediately wondered why we haven’t adapted such a precise and easily adjustable system back in the U.S.

The week went on, and I gradually began to assimilate myself to Tokyo’s style. Don’t stop moving, ever. Do not bother to look both ways when crossing the street—as long as the “WALK” light is on, you should be fine. Drive on the left-hand side of the street (seriously wasn’t expecting that one). Get in and out of the subway car as if your life depends on a speedy transition. Multi-task at every opportunity (I learned that one from the woman who held an umbrella and talked on the phone while bicycling her way to work). Know that 7-Eleven actually has a few incredible food choices. I was actually learning to exist in Japan.

Then came fight night.

The opportunity to attend an event inside Saitama Super Arena is something no true MMA fan should ever pass up. The incredible expanding arena, which has anywhere from 5,000 to near-50,000 seats, stands as a shrine to the glory days of the legendary PRIDE Fighting Championships. As a hardcore fan of the sport, knowing that Emelianenko vs. Cro Cop, Coleman vs. Rua, Cro Cop vs. Barnett, Aoki vs. Hansen, and Sokoudjou vs. Arona, not to mention countless other scraps featuring legends such as Wanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and so many others had taken place in the very same building, it’s hard not to get chills.

The action began at 9:30 a.m. local, and the crowd was a little late arriving. It’s understandable. Saitama is a bit of a trip from downtown Tokyo, and this was a cold, dreary morning complete with a drizzling rain. But after some initial concerns, the building filled out, and nearly 20,000 fans instantly remembered what it was like to host big-time MMA.

However, this was not a PRIDE crowd. The viewing practices seem to have evolved a bit, with the crowd happy to give a few more cheers and boos than before, and not simply waiting for the proper moment to issue unanimous applause. They were more animated, more involved than in those PRIDE glory days. And thankfully, the fighters delivered.

Benson Henderson was sensational in his successful effort to take Frankie Edgar’s UFC Lightweight Title. Mark Hunt and Tim Boetsch had surprising wins that brought the fans to their feet. Anthony Pettis and Issei Tamura delivered incredible finishes. And while he embarrassed himself the day before by weighing 207 pounds, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson provided an incredible moment, entering the arena to the famed PRIDE theme music, bringing the Saitama Super Arena crowd to its feet, clapping in unison, just as if it were 2006 and the once-dominant fight company had never crumbled into oblivion.

But at the end of the day, UFC 144 was unquestionably a UFC event. There were no over-the-top entrance theatrics, no crazy screaming lady, no ref-cams, or repeated yells of “Action!” and “Give up?” This was the traveling road show that the UFC brings from city to city. Maybe it didn’t translate perfectly, but it sure seemed like the Japanese fans figured out how to access the UFC’s hot water.

As I prepared to leave Japan, my fight-night joys—coupled with a week of positive experiences in Japan—left me confident I would have no problems venturing out to meet my friend at the Westin Hotel in search of one final sushi meal. Alas, it was not to be. My taxi driver and I couldn’t get on the same page, and I never did make it to meet my friend. However, the Western Hotel seemed liked a decent place, as did the Washington Hotel. Neither, of course, was where I was trying to go, but in a completely non-American gesture, the taxi driver refused to charge me since he hadn’t taken me to the proper destination. He let me leave without so much as accepting my tip, and I jumped on an express bus for the airport.

As I left Tokyo on Sunday afternoon, bound for Australia via Los Angeles (again, another ridiculous story to save for a different day), I immediately hoped that I’d have another chance to visit Japan. They may still struggle to spell Georges St-Pierre, and I’ll admittedly probably never learn another character outside of “sauce,” but the country still knows how to enjoy a good fight.

HELLO KITTY

BY PAUL THATCHER

I was just minding my own business, taking pictures like a typical western tourist in the middle of Shibuya—the Japanese big brother of Times Square (without the trash on the streets)—when I felt someone tap me on the back. I spun around and saw who else, but Ariel Helwani in the middle of a sea of Japanese people. He was doing the same thing, just taking in this kaleidoscope of humanity.

Shibuya is an amazing place to just sit and enjoy people watching, so that’s what we did, taking some pictures to commemorate the experience. We continued our pictorial until it was time to meet up with Daniel Herbertson, an Australian photographer/journalist and our guide for the evening. We were joined by Esther Lin, another ass-kicking-talented photographer.

Off we went, headed to Kabukicho, the Red Light District. There’s a lot of walking going on in Tokyo, hence the shortage of fat people, and abundance of blisters (I suspect). We wound our way through the back allies of the Red Light District as Daniel led us deep into the well of debauchery. We passed one club that was made to look like the inside of a subway train—full of sexy females dressed like school girls. You can go in, pay a fee, sit next to them, and…well, touch them. And no, although most people won’t believe me, I didn’t go in. Daniel had other plans in mind for us, which did include purring beauties. We continued until arriving at The Cat Café, where for 1000 yen (about $12), you can pet all the kitties you want. Off with our shoes and in we went.

The café had the ambiance of a doctor’s waiting room—thin carpet and fluorescent lights. And there they were, maybe 40 of them, purring, bright eyed and bushy tailed, some being openly petted by those clients that embraced this kind of deviance. Cats…being petted. Daniel had tricked us.

We had walked several miles and passed at least 100 places that offered more sexual healing than Marvin Gaye to get to a place where we could sit down and enjoy a good stroke of a cat. This had to be some sort of Eastern joke that Daniel was playing on us, but my feet needed a rest and they served tea, so we sat… and stroked.